Informal Visitations
by theforgetfulalchemist
Summary: The Elric family in the years after the Promised Day. With the addition of freeloaders from Xing.
1. 1915

A/N: Hello everyone! First off I have not abandoned A Painless Lesson. But with the beginning of term, I've been super busy. I'm working on chapter 11, but it may take a while; I have it maybe a third written right now. So I figured, instead of not updating, I could put up this story that's been resting on my computer about the Elrics after the Promised Day. It's short (it's multi-chaptered but the individual segments are brief), relatively plotless, and nearly complete. So I think it'll serve as a good buffer until I'm done with chapter 11. It's so close to being complete that I will probably just post the other chapters even if I can put up a chapter of A Painless Lesson on time. Thank you for reading and hopefully I'll have chapter 11 up soon!

_1915_

Ed couldn't believe it. He was home. _Al_ was home...really home, as himself, he could touch things and eat Winry's pie and feel Den when he played with him. He laughed softly, punching with both fists, and seeing flesh blur past twice instead of flesh and metal sent him into more fits of uncontrollable laughter. Jogging, he thought of everyone who helped him get to this point, who he needed to thank…of the Colonel and the Lieutenant, Mr. Gori and Mr. Heinkel…He suddenly stopped jogging, his pace slowing until he was standing in the middle of the road. Not everyone had gotten out of helping them alive. Hughes murdered as a warning…Nina murdered for no reason at all…Foo who never got to see Lin become emperor...

_Oh man, Lin and Lanfan. _He hadn't had much chance to talk to either after the Bearded Bastard was taken down. Lin had said he wanted to leave fast because they were illegals and didn't want to get caught. Ed and Al hadn't had time to tell them how sorry they were about Foo or Lanfan's arm, the arm she couldn't get back any more than her grandfather. He continued slowly down the familiar dirt path. He hadn't noticed that he had almost reached Winry's house. Now thoroughly depressed, he pushed open the front door.

"Hey, hey! Long time no see!" a familiar cheerful voice called.

"Ah! What the…!? Lin!?" Ed started. Sure enough his Xingese friend was standing right in front of him, eyes-as always-closed, grinning broadly and poised on the ledge of a window facing the front door. Recovering, Ed ran up to him.

"Lin you crazy bastard, what are you doing here!" he exclaimed happily, pounding his friend's fist.

"Oh, diplomatic business and whatnot. I've got a lot of that to do now I'm emperor. Thought I'd surprise you and Al. I'm sorry we couldn't talk more after…well…" Lin's face hardened and Ed knew he had meant "after Foo died". But Lin snapped out of his brooding to conclude "Well, thought we'd drop by!"

"We? Wait, of course, that means…"

"Hey, Runt."

"Lanfan!"

A masked figure had emerged from under the window and climbed through where Lin had just been. She removed the mask, revealing her much less intimidating face and grinned. Ed scowled.

"Hey that's not fair! I'm taller than you now, you can't...oh whatever." He grumbled. His reverie hadn't exactly put him in a fighting mood. "How's that arm holding up? Fully recovered yet?" He asked. She grinned wider.

"Don't patronize me! I've gotten completely used to it!"

Soon Winry came in demanding to know who was in her house, Pinako right behind her.

"Oh Ed, it's you. Oh! Lin! Lanfan! You're back?"

"What, more riffraff in my hou- wait, aren't you that young fellow who was here with Ed before?" Pinako squinted at Lin through her small glasses.

"No ma'am, that wasn't me, but I was there."

"What?"

But further explanation was drowned out by a high pitched squeal from Winry. She had noticed Lanfan's arm.

"Wow, Ed was right! Oh, man his description didn't even come close." She grabbed the automail arm abruptly, making Lanfan gasp in surprise and blush.

"This is genius...whoever made this was able to gut it enough to fit a blade but keep it durable...oh your so lucky..."

"Winry! Cut it out!" Ed hissed warningly. Winry blushed, and dropped the arm, mumbling an apology.

"That's alright." Lanfan assured her generously, raising both arms palm out infront of her as a sign she took no offense.

"May I take a look at it later? It's so superbly crafted and weaponized automail is so cool..." Winry asked.

"Sure." Lanfan assented shyly. "Perhaps you could give me some pointers on maintaining it? I'm afraid I'm not very good at keeping it clean and such..."

"Of course!"

Seeing as how Lin and Lanfan were friends of Ed and Al's she insisted they stay for dinner. They banded together to find Al, who had been making repairs for people in the village. Ed, Winry, and Pinako had been concerned with him overexerting himself with his body still so weak, but he said he needed to keep moving to build his muscle up again. So, he did as much work as he felt up to as often as he could. When they found him, he was delighted to see Lin and Lanfan and asked after Mei which earned him no end of grief from Winry. After much catching up, Ed and Lin, with nothing pressing that needed to be done for a change, took a stroll down Resembool's main drive.

"It doesn't feel real we're not being almost murdered by homunculi, huh?" Lin broke in calmly, almost sadly. It was one of the many times Ed was violently reminded of how mature Lin was, even though he was younger than himself.

"No, but I hope it stays this way." he answered smiling wryly. Lin grinned.

"Well it's too bad. I could use a shot at Bradley. Greed did most of the work."

Ed felt he'd never understand the idiot prince. But suddenly, Lin's grinned disappeared and his face hardened like it had when he mentioned the Promised Day.

"Oh I'm joking. I mean, c'mon, Ed. Our whole time in this country searching for immortality was hell. You should have seen Lanfan's family when we got back, Ed. They were torn apart."

Ed could understand families being torn apart.

"When her brother Shu saw her arm, he looked like he wanted to kill me. Or just break down crying. Or like he couldn't make up his mind which he wanted to do."

Ed was reminded vividly of his own family's reaction to he and Al's broken bodies. How Winry had cried for days and refused to leave either's side. How Granny had raged at the Colonel for merely suggesting they perform alchemy ever again.

"And when they found out about Foo… well everyone loved Foo. And Lanfan's father died when we were little so her mother endures losing her father as well as her husband. On top of a crippled daughter." He finished bitterly, anger in his voice at not being able to protect his servants who Ed knew were family to him the way Winry and Granny were to him and Al. Or how Uncle and Auntie Rockbell were to them before they passed away.

Lin paused, looked down, let out a long sigh, and scratched his head just above the bow that kept his hair in a ponytail. "I put them through alot. And I'm just glad they can rest now."

"Lin, I…" Ed began but he didn't know what to say to make up for what getting involved in he and his brother did to the taller boy. He understood feeling guilty... he felt guilty for what had happened to the dead old man and crippled girl, as he did for Brigadier General Hughes.

"Al and I are really sorry about Foo. And…and about Lanfan. The recovery's a bitch, but get past it and you're as good as before with an automail arm. Girl like her will be fine!"

Lin smiled faintly.

"Thanks." He seemed to understand. "And I hope you're right about Lanfan. She still struggles sometimes but she's getting more and more used to the arm."

"She isn't fully recovered yet!?"

"Ed, it hasn't even been a full year."

"But she said she was fine!"

"Lanfan always says she's fine, Ed."

"Oh. Right."

The two boys continued talking and laughing. When the sun began to set, Winry sent Den for them and they obediently returned for dinner and apple pie for dessert.

"Hey where's Lanfan?" Winry asked abruptly when they had finished eating.

Everyone looked around the kitchen to find it sans one black-haired girl.

Al broke the silence.

"I dunno. Uh…maybe she went on a walk to work off the meal?" he offered. Lin snorted.

"Lanfan doesn't take walks for exercise. That's barely a blip on her radar." He stood up. "Lanfan?" he called clearly. No response. He looked close to panic.

"Let's look for her." Ed suggested seeing his friend's distress. After Winry being used as a hostage hung over he and Al's heads, he understood it was a scary thing, not knowing where a loved one was. "Geez, of course she'd choose to disappear _after_ dinner…she's got a stomach about as big as yours, Lin."

* * *

Ed was the one who eventually found her. She was kneeling in the small cemetery his mother was buried in. He remembered approaching the place more than half a year ago and seeing his father standing close to where she was now.

"Man, there you are! You about gave Lin a heart attack… It's not like you to leave him without backup." He said.

"I did not leave him unattended. Others guard him in the shadows, undetected, and I only intended to step out for a moment." She replied simply, eyes still on the grave in front of her.

As he approached he saw whose grave she was looking at.

Hoenheim's.

_What's she doing here…? _"Lanfan are you…praying for my dad?"

"Yes." She answered not breaking her vigil. "When I asked after him Pinako told me he had past. So I pray for his journey in the other world. I understand he knew and loved our country, so I hope he takes no offense in our customs."

"But why were you asking Granny about Ho-Dad?" Ed asked still getting used to the term "dad" to describe him. But he felt he owed the bastard that much at least. Lanfan blushed and stared at the grave for a moment. She did not seem to know how she should answer. Finally:

"Your father did me a great kindness on that so-called Promised Day."

"What do you mean?"

Lanfan stood up, and with a last little reverent bow to Hoenheim's grave, turned to Ed.

"On that…horrible day" Lanfan began and Ed suppressed a pang knowing how real the horror was for her. She had lost her grandfather on that day. "Do you remember how on that day we all went down into that foul lair under Central? And we split up and I went with your father?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry about that. I hope he didn't try anything funny…" Ed replied, remembering what his dad had said about "preferring the company of young women" or some shit when choosing to go with her.

"What…? Oh! No! It wasn't like that!" Lanfan blustered, blushing a little harder than before but looking amused. "That was an excuse. You see, when we were alone he told me to go find His Majesty."

"To find Lin!?"

"Yes. He sent me off to look for him, saying he'd be fine on his own. That's what I wanted to thank him for. I was sorry to learn he had died."

"That was…nice of him." Ed mumbled. "But" he said finally "How come you had to run off like that? "

She looked at the grave again.

"I did…not want His Majesty to know."

"Why?"

She bit her lip and blushed the hardest yet. What had his father said that she wanted to keep from Lin?

"Lanfan!" Lin came running up to them looking more cross with himself for not finding her sooner than with her for disappearing. And as Ed watched the scene of Lanfan blushingly trying to explain where she had been without revealing too much to an irritatingly probing Lin, he felt he understood his friends, and his father, a bit better.

The next day, Lin and Lanfan set out early in the morning for Central (though not so early as to miss breakfast).

"Well, see you later Ed."

"Take care."

"Yeah, later guys…"

"Come again, sometime!" Al called after them as they walked away.

"We definitely will! Whenever we get the chance!" Lin called back over his shoulder.

"Man, why do I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of them?" Ed griped watching them go.

"Oh be quiet, you know you like them." Winry teased. "Hey, Al, maybe next time they visit, they'll bring Mei."

"So what!?" Al asked defensively, glaring sharply, though the effect was not in the least intimidating in his stll somewhat emaciated body.

A few weeks later, a letter with Xingese writing on the envelope arrived at the Rockbell residence. In it was a grainy photo. In the photo Lin faced the camera soberly in his new Imperial robes which he seemed to be growing into. Lanfan was clearly visible behind the large throne he was sitting on, though her face was obscured by her mask. Ed recognized it as the picture that came with the newspaper article announcing Lin being crowned emperor. On the back was scrawled in inexpert Amestrian:

_Lanfan and I at my coronation! Pretty cool, right? Oh, and Chang says hello._

As Ed tacked it to the hallway cork board he mused that no, he probably hadn't seen the last of them. He could never manage to shake the idiot prince before…why should that change now?


	2. 1922 and 1926

_A/N: _I present Chapter 2, now with 50% more Mei Chang. Both these segments, taking place in 1922 and 26, are real short, so I combined them for this chapter. It's still really short though (The first few segments are drabble-y but the next one is longer). I hope you enjoy it!

Harryswoman: Thank you so much! :) I'm so happy you liked the chapter! Especially because I decided to post it because I haven't been able to get a new chapter of A Painless Lesson written yet and therefore I haven't edited this story in a while and wasn't sure if anyone would like it. So thank you, I appreciate it a lot!

_1922_

"Edward. If you take one more picture of me, I swear I'll take that camera apart and use the pieces to create something less horribly annoying."

"Aw but this thing is cool!"

"Stop being such a kid!"

Ed and Winry were sitting on the porch of the Rockbell home on a bright, windy spring afternoon, Winry cradling their napping baby son. Lin and Lanfan were again visiting. Lin was practicing with his sword on the lawn in front of the porch and Lanfan, who had been sparring with him, was now sitting by Winry. Ed and Winry were expecting their second child and everyone had been glad the time they had free to visit coincided with the due date. Al had joked it was a miracle his brother's children hadn't been born early on account of their father's impatience like he still held happened with Dominic's grandson. They all hoped he at least wouldn't be born late causing Lin and Lanfan to miss it. Ed had gotten a handheld camera for the occasion but quickly found it was so fun he was using up all the film. Al had had to remind him dryly to save some for when his child came around.

"I had my picture taken once." Lin commented lightly, wiping his brow and joining them on the porch. "When I was corrinated. Man that was horrible. Felt like hours and they wanted me to open my eyes. But I look all _shifty_ and stuff when I open my eyes."

The front door opened and Pinako walked out.

"Are you still on with that thing boy?" She asked Ed. "If you're out of film when the tyke's born your mother will roll in her grave. My son and his wife too."

"I know, I know! Al already bitched me out about it."

"Speakin' of, Al should be here any minute…"

"I'm here, I'm here!" came a shout from down the road. Al was pelting toward them, with Mei and Xiao Mei running behind him. Ten years back in his own body had made his figure full again and he could now easily outrun his older brother, let alone the smaller Xingese woman. They reached the front porch gasping, continuing a conversation with shallow breaths.

"I still say it's your array that needs work!"

"No way! It's just that I've never been as good as you at feeling the dragon's pulse, is all!"

Their bickering was cut short when they noticed everyone else was grinning.

They joined the family, blushing slightly as they sat down with everyone else on the porch.

"Brother, did you remember to leave some…"

"Film. Yes. I fucking know already."

"Oh, uh, by the way…" Al changed the subject nervously. He gave Lin a significant look to which he responded with a puzzled expression right back. "Lin can I, uh, talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure Al. Let's go inside, then." He smiled at Lanfan. "Don't worry I'll only be gone a second."

Al led Lin to the back of the house where automail parts were scattered everywhere. Careful not to break or knock over anything, they sat on two stools devoid of machinery.

"So, what's up, Al?" Ling asked turning to him.

"Well…it's about Mei…I…I plan on asking her to marry me."

"Al, that's great news!" Ling exclaimed. He put his hands together and bowed slightly. "I humbly pray for the union of our families." He said, the traditional saying on such an occasion in Xing. Al, used to Xingese customs from his time spent there, returned the bow. Solemn formalities over with, they both smiled widely at each other.

"I'm so glad you're okay with it!" Al said relieved. "I wanted to make sure. I mean you _are_ her older brother and all…"

"Couldn't ask for better!" Ling assured him. "She's been so happy here with you. When you came to visit us in Xing she was the happiest I had ever seen her."

"R-really?" Al stammered, taken aback.

"Really. I knew then her heart lay out of our country and I had a feeling she'd want to join you when you went back home. She's the only one of my siblings I care about and I just want her to be happy, which she obviously is with you."

Al smiled. "Al right, then. Thanks Lin. I'll ask her today."

"Be quick about it. I'm not good at keeping secrets!"

"What!? But you kept secrets from Greed!"

"Greed is not my sister about to be proposed to."

_1926_

"It's a girl!" Winry announced brightly to the small assembly outside the door. She led Ed, Lin, and Lanfan into her brother-in-law's master bedroom where Mei was lying, exhausted. She held a small infant with patchy black hair like hers. Al was sitting next to them on the bed stroking his daughter's hair, his arm around his wife's shoulder. His expression was comically similar to the one he had petting stray cats he had found as a boy.

"Well done, Mei." Lanfan said warmly.

"Yeah, my first niece, this is exciting!" Ed said gleefully, hugging his brother and sister-in-law in turn.

"Mine too!" Lin affirmed. He too went up to hug his sister and pat his brother-in-law on the back soundly.

"What are you talking about, Brother?" Mei laughed, breaking away from the hug. "Plenty of our older brothers and sisters have children!"

"Yeah, I don't consider people who tried to assassinate me my siblings, thanks." Lin responded stepping back from his assault on Al's back.

"I bet Roy, Dan, and Trisha will be happy to meet their cousin." Ed commented when it was his turn to hold his niece. On cue two small running footsteps were heard crashing toward the room.

"Speak of the devil…"

Two small boys, both with their father's shaggy golden hair, ran into the room. An equally blond little girl toddled in behind them.

"I wanna see the baby!" the elder of the boys demanded.

"Ya, baby cuz!" his little brother backed him up.

"Okay, but be gentle kids." Winry said anxiously. The next few hours were spent keeping the toddlers from poking and prodding their new cousin while she slept and Mei rested until there was a knock on the door.

"Come in! Door's open!" Al called. There was the sound of the front door swinging open and soon a large figure walked cautiously into the doorway of the bedroom.

"Pardon my intrusion." The man in the door addressed them in a quiet, gruff voice.

"Scar!?" Ed cried, bristling. Winry attempted a faltering smile, but did not protest.

"Brother please calm down." Al pleaded.

"But…!"

"I know." Neither of them had forgotten or forgiven what he had done.

"I'm sorry, everyone…" Mei said, looking especially at Winry. "I asked Al to call him."

"It's okay, Mei." Winry told her. "We'll never be on good terms with him, but he's family to you and we don't grudge you that. He has a right to see your baby."

"Thank you. But, I'm surprised you got here so fast, Mr. Scar." Mei said, turning to him. "Al only called you this morning."

"I happened to be close by. It only took a few hours by train." Scar informed her. "Marcoh and Yoki should be stopping by sometime tomorrow. Marcoh is quite a ways farther from here than me and he has to make sure Yoki actually shows up." He looked around at the family. Ed was barely containing his anger. Winry was not even looking at him. Al, true to form, looked ready to play peace maker at a moment's notice. The two boys were staring at him in awe rapidly asking their father who he was over and over again. Mei was smiling contentedly at him, happy both for the safe birth and that her old friend could make it to see her newborn daughter. "Understandably, I think I am not entirely welcome in this house. I'll take my leave." Scar said, turning to go. A few steps into the hallway, he turned back to face Mei. "May Ishballa bless you and your child, girl." He said, and left.


	3. 1932

_A/N: Finally a full length chapter! I meant to update sooner, but I got sick all weekend._

_NomNomInc: Thanks! Lol yeah, apparently the Chronicles character profiles book says they have alot of kids, so I followed that._

_Xodiac 451: Thank you! :)_

_Harryswoman: That makes sense! I just got the impression while they respected Winry's decision to spare him, they never forgave him, not only because he hurt Winry but teh Rockbells were their aunt and uncle they miss very much too._

_1932_

Roy Elric was not having a good day. His mother had him help her recast Mr. William's leg, a project that ended in them both covered in filth and a few extra wrench-shaped dents in the wall. The new casting was an experimental model Winry was developing and getting it just right exhausted mother got a brilliant idea and recruited his father to be a "test subject" to which he replied she was crazy. As Roy got older (he turned twelve in a few months) his mother gave him more complicated automail to work on. Why just last week he got to work on a Crocodile that belonged to a Briggs soldier once! He loved automail, the Rockbell in him, his dad always said, but it put him in a bad mood to fail a difficult project. So both he and his mother were in a terrible mood when they made it out of the studio for lunch covered in grease and dirt. And his little brother didn't help matters. Daniel had teased him all throughout the meal about every piece of automail he had ever had trouble with until Ed had to stop the fight.

"_You _try to adjust wiring that complex then, if you're so smart, idiot!"

"You're the idiot, Brother!"

"Boys, that's enough now."

"But, Dad!"

"Behave you two." chimed in a light female voice from the front door. Roy's Aunt Mei walked into the kitchen giving her nephews a stern glare that the small panda on her shoulder was imitating. But she was smiling kindly.

"Mei!" Winry got up to hug her sister-in-law and Xiao Mei purred in greeting. She hopped off her owner's shoulder to cuddle and beg food. As Ed threw some meat to small animal, Mei explained:

"I just stopped by to tell you my brother sent a telegram for all of us."

His Aunt Mei had many brothers but there was only one she called as such: his Uncle Lin, Emperor of Xing.

"He's going to be in the country soon and he's going to drop by to see us."

Roy's expression brightened. He absolutely adored his Uncle Lin. The man could eat more than anyone on the face of the earth, knew how to push his dad's buttons and treated them all like equals and family even though he was the ruler of a whole country. And his Aunt Lanfan would visit too!

About a week later the Elric family was all eating a late breakfast on a Saturday morning. Saturday was a busy day in the Elric family mainly because everyone seemed to congregate at Roy's home on that day. His Uncle Al and Aunt Mei were over for breakfast with their six year old daughter Bai and their infant son Van. His dad, uncle, and aunt were having a lively (and somewhat chaotic) discussion about alchemy while Van, sitting in his father's lap, reached for everything on the table. Dan and Bai, having finished eating, were playing with marbles on the kitchen floor which Xiao Mei chased. His other younger brothers, Mordikai and Nikolai, were playing with the dog outside. His mother and her apprentice, Tomas LeCourt, were a few yards away in the living room pouring over automail design blueprints and drinking coffee. His little sister Trisha was finishing her arithmetic homework on the other side of the table. On days like these the buzz became so loud Roy, eating his breakfast next to his father at the table, could hardly make out what everyone was saying.

"I told you Brother, using Purification Arts in that type of array would cause…"

"Ha! I win again Bai!"

"I think Ed's right, dear…"

"No Xiao Mei! Don't eat that!"

"Not you too, Mei!"

"So I think if we make it more than 1% carbon, it would work…"

"Listen to your big Brother! And your wife!"

"But what if it's too heavy? We could distribute the weight but…"

"Cheater! Cheater! _Ba_, Daniel's cheating!"

"Daddy, what's seven times four?"

"twenty-eight, sweetie."

"Hey, Hey! The gang's all here! How's everyone been?"

"Hello, everyone."

At these last voices, everyone looked up. Standing in front of the kitchen window which they had clearly just climbed through unnoticed by the noisy family was Lin and Lanfan waving at them casually. Tom, who had gone by the window to get more coffee, spread his arms as if presenting them to his master's family with a look of awkward bemusement on his face.

"Uh…guests to see you…Mr. and Mrs. Elric…"

"Lin! Lanfan!" Ed, Al and Winry shouted.

"Uncle Lin! Auntie!" Daniel and Bai called from the floor, Roy from the table.

"Brother! Lanfan!" Mei cried.

"Unca, aunta, unca, aunta…" Van gurgled as if it was an afterthought of the swell of simultaneous voices.

Bai sprang into her uncle's arms. Daniel ran up and hugged his aunt. Hefting his little niece Lin walked over to the table. Lanfan ruffled Daniel's hair, who was still clinging to her. She gave him the imposing mask strapped to her back to play with and followed her lord as Dan paraded off wearing it.

"Any food left, Ed?"

"Sure thing, man."

"Bless you for marrying someone who can cook. Your cooking is atrocious."

"Hey! It's not my fault I only had my shoe! And may I remind you it was _you_ who got us stuck in that hellhole to begin with?"

"No you may not."

Winry and Mei saw to fetching two more chairs Lin and Lanfan saw to getting their own (huge) breakfast plates.

"How's life, Roy-boy?" Lin asked cheerfully as he sat down on Ed's other side. Both he and Lanfan began wolfing down insane amounts of pancakes, toast, eggs and bacon. Roy could swear he saw his Uncle Lin snatch hash browns from his dad's plate but his arms were moving so fast he couldn't tell. "Man, but you're growing up! You're going to be twelve soon aren't you?" Lin continued to address him, now holding a squirming and giggling Van.

"Yup! I'm so excited!" Roy replied happily. "Dad said on my birthday we can go see a picture at the new movie house they just built on Main Street! And Mom said I can adjust Dad's leg on my birthday too!"

"I feel sorry for Dad!" Daniel piped up as he passed still marching with Aunt Lanfan's mask. Roy glared at his little brother.

"Don't listen to your brother, Roy." Winry assured him. "He's improved so much this last year!" She added to Uncle Lin and Aunt Lanfan. "He'll be running his own studio before we know it!"

"I don't wonder. He takes after the best." Lanfan said smiling gratefully at Winry. Roy knew that, like his Aunt Paninya in Rush Valley, she had a deep love and respect for automail engineers because she herself had an automail arm. Through it she could live a fuller life and most importantly to his aunt, he felt, it allowed her to serve and protect his Uncle Lin. While he wished his father and Aunt Lanfan hadn't had to lose their original limbs, he was happy and full of pride that the work he and his mother did made their lives better. He was glad doing what they loved helped members of their own family.

At that moment Mordikai and Nikolai came in from playing outside, dirt and grass stains all over their pants.

"Guess who's here!" Nikolai announced excitedly.

"They know dummy. They can _see_, Nick."

"But what if everyone became blind 'cus of aliens?"

"Dummy people don't just go blind!"

"Yes they do! Uncle Roy did! Papa said!"

After everyone had eaten, Lin asked Ed to walk with him. They rose and Lin, smiling, beckoned to Lanfan. She rose too, bowing slightly to him.

"Roy, Dan, you want to come along?" Lin called to Roy who was cleaning the breakfast dishes with Tom and to Daniel who was arguing his status as a cheater at marbles with Bai. They were the only ones of the children old enough to not be bored by walking and talking with them. "I don't get to see you kids every day, after all!"

"Be quick, I want both Ed and Lanfan back soon so I can give them the once over. I can't often give Lanfan's arm a look and if I'll be doing that, I might as well do Ed's leg too." Winry called distractedly from her spot in the living room still pouring over blueprints with a mug of coffee in her hand.

So the four of them set out on the main drive of the village. Daniel, with the energy that often annoyed Roy, ran ahead of everyone else. Ed and Lin walked side by side, laughing, Lanfan slightly behind them keeping a close eye on Lin. She talked little but stayed in the conversation.

Roy always enjoyed hearing his elders talking because it meant he could hear stories about their past adventures, back when his dad had been a state alchemist under the Bradley administration. Every year he would learn more about it, less like geting a new issue of a comic book, and more like getting more pieces of a jigsaw puzzle he was putting together. Some bits were too frightening to hear until he was older. Some of these he'd been told already, like how his father was hurt badly is Bascool up north or his Uncle Roy's friend Maes Hughes being murdered. Other things were what his Uncle Roy called "classified" and he doubted he'd ever learn about that.

But he was learning more and more parts of the whole story. And he was getting old enough that he could talk with the adults about it. He could ask questions about what had happened to them so long ago now. His father had encouraged it as he got older, saying that when he was a young man he had been disturbed at how ignorant he was and had striven to learn as much as he could. When his dad was young he had had similar discussions with the adults in his life like asking Roy's Aunt Riza about what she had experienced in the Ishbal War. And so, when the opportunity arose for Roy to ask something he had wanted to for a long time, he steeled his courage to ask.

"Well, you know what Greed always said: even wanting to protect people is greedy…" Ed was saying. They were on the subject of politics, and what Mustang was doing in Central as Fuhrer to benefit their country's people.

"Yeah…" Lin replied sounding oddly remorseful. Lanfan said nothing but looked at Lin with an expression Roy couldn't place, as though she was torn between remorse like him and a bitter hatred she was trying to fight.

Greed. The homunculus. This was a good chance.

"Uncle…" Roy began slowly, worried he might offend him. "Is it true you were a homunculus?"

The three adults stopped. Daniel continued running ahead. For a moment Lin and Lanfan looked at each other and Ed looked away uncomfortably. Finally Lin turned to face Ed.

"So you told him about that, huh?"

"Uh…Uh huh…" Ed replied, still uncomfortable. Lin turned to Roy.

"Yup it's true! Isn't that awesome? I was immortal and everything! One time I was shot in the head and I lived!"

Ed almost fell over.  
"Oh, right, I keep forgetting you're a freak like Gori and Heinkel and don't care if people know."

"So I'm a freak now, am I? For accepting what I was?" Lin laughed as they all started walking again, catching up with Daniel who was almost to the Smiths' house.

"But wait…" Roy began again. He had confirmation that his uncle had, indeed, been a homunculus and his father wasn't pulling his leg in an effort to make his stories more exciting. He wanted to know more. "How's that even possible? I know a little about alchemy from listening to Dad and Uncle Al and Aunt Mei, so I know a homunculus is an 'artificial human', like a fake person or something. So how do you just…_become_ a homunculus and then stop being one again...?"

Again the adults looked at each other. Again Aunt Lanfan had that strange look that was almost furious. _What was that about?_

"That is a very good question." Lin said.

"This might take a lot of explaining…" Lanfan added suppressing her angry look to grin at Roy.

"…that will take a long time." Ed concluded. "And your mom wanted us back soon so she can get some work done on my leg and Lanfan's arm."

"How about when your dad's getting worked on we do his parenting for him and explain the whole story to you?" Lin suggested. "Is…that okay with you?" He shot at Lanfan, looking at her suddenly. She tensed, but nodded.

"Yes, Sire."

"I know you don't like to talk about him…"

"That's okay."

Feeling very awkward, realizing his question stirred up some upsetting feelings for his aunt and uncle, Roy followed them back to the house. Daniel had tired himself out running so much and was now riding piggyback on Ed's shoulders. When they got home, Winry was waiting for them prepping the studio to give Ed and Lanfan checkups. After sitting them down on the couch and taking measurements, she eventually dragged Ed away to perform some adjustments.

"So. Roy-boy. I guess there's some stuff you want to know." Lin said pleasantly, patting the couch cushion between himself and Lanfan.

"Uh huh…" Roy answered hesitantly, sitting between his aunt and uncle. "But um…Auntie? Did I make you mad? I'm sorry if I did."

His aunt looked startled, and blushed a little, caught off guard. Lin looked at her with….what was it? Guilt? Pain?

"Oh, honey, no." she answered him tenderly. "It's only that…well…it's a complicated story. You'll understand when you hear about it."

"Is that why you looked so sad, Uncle? Because it's complicated? I'm sorry if I upset _you_ Uncle…"

Lin laughed heartily and his aunt gave an amused smile.

"You really are an observant boy, huh?" Lin said.

"Indeed, you really take after your folks." Lanfan agreed ruffling his hair like she had done to Dan's.

"Yeah you remind me of your dad when he was younger." Lin said, reminiscing. Lin turned to him with a mock serious look. "But do not under any circumstance tell him I insinuated he's intelligent in any way."

"It wouldn't do to have him think we respect him, you see." Lanfan added, smiling slightly. Roy laughed, feeling more relaxed and better about upsetting them. Lin smiled down at him for a moment, and then his face turned serious again, this time for real.

"It makes sense you're so curious, being his kid. What has your dad already told you?"

"Just that you got turned into a homunculus called Greed. But I don't get it…Dad told me Greed was some other guy in your body that made you a homunculus, but I've never heard of that happening."

"Your Dad and Uncle Al didn't go into specifics, huh?" his aunt asked him. Roy shook his head.

"Dad doesn't like to talk to us about alchemy. Mom says it's because he hurt Uncle Al with alchemy by accident and he's scared we'll do something like that too. And I think Uncle Al feels the same way."

"Oh. I see. That makes sense."

"Well, I'm not an alchemist but I can explain." Lin said. "I should know, it was my body!" Lanfan's brow tensed.

_Really what's up with Auntie? And why was Uncle so sad? This is weird._

"Well anyway, you know how there was a group of homunculi trying to make a Philosophers stone?"

Roy nodded.

"Well Greed was one of them, but he didn't see eye to eye with the others. He wanted to take everything for himself. 'Cause he's greedy, yeah?"

"So he became you because he was greedy?"

"Basically. See, a homunculus is made from a Philosophers Stone, so when Greed got out of control, the other Homunculi captured him and…well melted him down into the stone again."

"Like steal being smelted down for automail?"

"Exactly. A Homunculi broken down like Greed was can be injected into an already existing body, and take it over, turning it from a human body to a homunculus's body. Your Dad and I stumbled on their hideout and seeing I had a healthy body and that they didn't need me for anything else, they decided to give it a shot with me. They erased his memories somehow so that he'd obey their leader again, and put him into my body."

"Huh? But Dad told me Greed helped you take down the bad guys!"

Lin smiled.

"He remembered his past and worked against the other homunculi again with us. He didn't want to at first. Greedy, you see. He always was greedy."

And the sad note in his voice returned. Suddenly, Roy recognized the tone_. _It was the same tone his dad used when talking about his Grandma Elric. The same his mom used talking about his Grandma and Grandpa Rockbell or her Grandmother Pinako.

_He was always greedy._

"He died didn't he?" Roy asked quietly.

"Yes."

It made sense. Otherwise he'd still be in his Uncle Lin's body. Even if Greed could have been extracted alive from him the only one capable of it would have been the other homunculi's leader, Greed's father.

"Did the other homunculi do it?" he asked, still hushed. Lin's face darkened. Slowly he turned facing forward, his hands clasped, eyes closed.

"Their father did. Right before he was defeated when we were all fighting him. He needed more power so he planned to take Greed back into his own body again for his Philosopher's Stone." He smiled ruefully.

" I tried to stop him. I held on as hard as I could but rather than me getting sucked in too, he tricked me into letting him go. It was his policy never to lie. He broke that to save me."

Greed had been his friend and he had died, died to save him. Tears welled up in his eyes at this thought. His aunt gave him a pat on the back

"When Greed was absorbed into his father he weakened him enough for your dad to deal with him…but he was killed doing it. Damn he was so greedy and the last thing he did was so selfless." Lin concluded wistfully.

Roy's eyes began to sting again. He had been very self sacrificing and brave. He admired Greed, someone who wasn't even human. And he felt incredibly grateful to him as well. His uncle would not be here now if not for him. If Greed hadn't had done what he did he as well as his little brother and small cousins who annoyed him so much and who he loved so much wouldn't have been born. He was glad he was told everything.

And now he knew why his uncle had seemed so sad. He thought he understood why his aunt had seemed angry. She must have been devastated to loose Uncle when his body was taken over by Greed. It must have been painful for her thinking she'd never have him back again and if he knew Auntie she'd have been feeling guilty for not protecting him as well. She must have been very resentful toward Greed, considered him a bitter enemy where Uncle thought of him as a friend. But was there more still to her anger?

"Auntie… he…Greed…he didn't…he's not why your arm's automail is he? He didn't hurt you when he was on the bad guys' side, did he?" Roy had never asked her before how she had lost her arm. A pained expression passed over Lin's face.

"No, it wasn't him." His aunt said.

"Greed had this thing about not hurting women." Lin explained, his pained expression gone, replaced by a small smile.

"It was B- another homunculus." Lanfan told him. At the mention of this person who forced her to live without her flesh and blood arm forever since she was fifteen years old, Lin's face turned angry. "B"…He knew the homunculi were named after sins... did any sin start with B? Why had his aunt thought twice about saying their name?

"Ah, finally done! Your turn for torture Lanfan!" Ed called, bring Roy out of his thoughts. He was walking toward the three of them from the workroom, happy to have escaped his wife's power for the time being. Lanfan rose politely from the couch and walked off to where Winry was waiting for her. Roy fiercely wanted to know about Greed, and he wanted to know about the homunculus who hurt her.

"Dad?" he asked as his father sat down in the spot his aunt just got up from. "The homunculus who took Aunt Lanfan's arm…what was their name?"

Lin got up abruptly and walked away. Ed watched him go remorsefully. Then he turned to his eldest son.

"…Wrath."

* * *

That night, Roy was lying in bed, Daniel mumbling in his sleep on the top of their bunk bed. He was thinking too much to sleep.

"So you told him everything, huh?" Ed's muffled voice was saying from the kitchen. Lin and Lanfan were going to sleep at Al and Mei's but they were staying late. Al and Mei were still over as well with Bai curled up asleep on the couch for the past hour and Van quietly snoring in his mother's arms.

"Yeah he really wanted to know all he could. Kept asking questions and figuring stuff out without us having to explain it to him. He's smart, that boy. Must get it from Winry."

"Hey!"

After the laughter died down Roy heard his Aunt Lanfan's voice.

"He was so sad to hear about what happened to Greed. He felt so sorry for him."

"Well he definitely got a compassionate side from his mother." Ed conceded fondly.

"Indeed." Mei chimed in. "It makes me sad to think of it as well. There were so many senseless deaths that day it's a miracle there weren't even more like him."

"Yeah, he turned out to be okay." Al agreed sadly. "I wish he'd made it. He certainly deserved it."

There was a pause, and then his father's voice reached him again.

"Lanfan, Roy asked me…about what happened to your arm."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Well, he asked for the name of the homunculus that did it so I told him 'Wrath'. He won't figure it out."

"Oh, that's good. He thought Greed did it."

"I should have just spilt it. Why shouldn't Roy know what Bradley did?"

…_Bradley?_

"…He permanently disabled Lanfan. He _killed_ Foo. He used Roy's own mother as a hostage."

_KING Bradley?_

"…Don't you think he should know what really happened to Lanfan? He adores his aunt. I can't stand that everyone looks up to him as a just ruler when he was a filthy traitor who didn't give a damn about any one of his subjects!"

Subjects… he was talking about the former Fuhrer.

Keeping the existence of the homunculi a secret was one thing. They had been hushed up to the general public and Roy was not permitted to talk about them. But Bradley being a homunculus was a different thing entirely. Fuhrer Bradley, his Uncle Roy's predecessor, was a homunculus... He had been taught in school that Fuhrer Bradley had died fighting the officers in Central Command who were conspiring against the state. And that was a lie. He had actually been on Central Command's side when they had tried to kill everyone in Amestris... He was the one that crippled his Aunt Lanfan... And what was that about her grandfather Foo and his mother being a hostage?

"Brother…something wrong?" Daniel said groggily. _Great_...Dan couldn't keep a secret, at least not one of his brother's secrets.

"Yeah everything's fine, Dan. Go back to sleep, ok? I'm gonna get some water." Roy replied. Daniel mumbled assent and turned over. He'd be asleep again in seconds. Roy slipped down on to the hardwood floor and crept to the door, following the light from the crack coming from the kitchen.

"I understand-" Ed began but paused. "Roy how long have you been there?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't trying to sneak I just heard you talking and was Bradley really Wrath?" Roy asked in a rush.

"…That's right."

Roy turned seriously to Lanfan. "And he hurt you, Auntie?"

"…He did."

"And he had Mom hostage?"

Ed smiled humorlessly. "He had to keep your Uncle Al and I in line somehow."

"…Did he hurt her too?" Roy asked in a small voice after a silence.

"No, we made sure she was safe. He never touched her." Ed assured him.

"And Mr. Foo?" He had heard of the old man but his dad just said he had died on the Promised Day fighting with everyone else. He had just assumed a Central City soldier had shot him.

Lin answered.

"When he found out Bradley was the one who hurt Lanfan he…sort of went berserk on him. It…didn't end well for Foo." He said, eyes swimming.

Lanfan held back tears. They both obviously missed the old man a lot.

"But" Lanfan interjected "Grandfather was able to help injure Bradley ensuring his defeat, so he did not die in vain."

"Come on now, Roy, you need to get some sleep." Mei said softly.

" And we should let Bai and Van sleep at home now." Al noted. He went over to the couch to pick up Bai, murmuring that it was time to go as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. Mei secured her hold on Van and got up too.

When they had all left for Al's house, Roy's father sat him down on a kitchen chair.

"Now listen son. You know you can't tell anyone that Bradley was a homunculus, right?"

"Yes, sir." Roy said at once. Ed sighed in relief.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be." He said. He looked at his son, frowning. "…You okay, Roy-boy?"

"It's just…I'm upset, too!" Roy burst out. "If he did all that stuff Uncle Lin said, then it's horrible everyone thinks he's a good guy! I mean one time, in school, I told Teacher I thought Bradley was a good Fuhrer because he protected you when you were all fighting! But he didn't protect anyone, did he, Dad?"

"No, he…he hurt a bunch of people. He…wasn't a good man, Roy. But look at it this way: by making him out to be a good man, Grumman and Mustang were able to get enough public support to become Fuhrer and fix Bradley's mistakes. It's like Teacher always told me. There's a flow to the world and everything's connected."

"Huh?"

"Heh. Don't worry, it took me years to figure it out. All _you_ need to know right now is that it is way past your bedtime. Get goin' now, you wanna have energy to play with your aunt and uncle tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir."


	4. 1938

_1938_

"This is going to be so cool!"

Roy looked up from the engineering textbook he was studying to grin at his younger brother.

"You know it! We never get to go to Xing!"

Both boys were sitting together in the room they shared as children, which was now just Roy's room. An open suitcase lay on the bed, with Roy's clothing and some of his tools both crammed in it and spread all over his bedroom. Dan had suspected Roy had just compiled everything that could conceivably be packed and threw it together with no rhyme or reason. Roy was methodical and unfailingly meticulous when it came to his work as an automail engineer but he was relatively sloppy with everything else.

"Mom got you working on a tough job?" Dan asked peering at the page his brother was reading, heavily annotated with scrawling notes much like their father's old alchemy texts. Roy sighed.

"No…Mom just has me learning more about weapons-grade automail. I wish I could have talked to Tom's grandpa before he passed away."

"Oh, yeah he was the leading expert in outfitting automail with weapon utility wasn't he?"

"Yup. When we get to Xing, Mom wants me to study Aunt Lanfan's arm. Just like her to give me work to do on vacation."

"Ha! That means I get all the cute girls to myself!"

"Dream on, little brother."

Dan was about to snatch his brother's book away in retaliation when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello cousins of mine." A short girl of thirteen with shoulder-length black hair walked in the room. A seven-year-old boy with hair the same color as his sister's but slightly longer and in a short ponytail zoomed past her.

"Oh, hey guys!"

"You're not done packing _yet_?" Bai said sitting down next to her older cousins. "We leave tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Roy told her trying to immerse himself in his textbook again.

"What brings you two over here anyway?" Daniel asked.

"Ma and Ba are working on some alchemy thing." Van informed him, kicking Roy's pillow around the room. "So we thought we should play with you for a while."

"Ma said they've been using her Ishbalan friend's brother's notes to find out more about how purification arts and alchemy can be used together." Bai said, taking over the explanation. Both boys shook their heads.

"Man I don't really get alchemy much." Roy said. "But it sounds complicated."

"Oh it is." Bai assured him. Though like their father, Al had refrained from teaching his children too much about alchemy, Aunt Mei had passed down her skill with the purification arts to both. Though Van, as he would often emphatically state, prefered the martial arts.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Van asked, apparently bored with using his older cousin's pillow as a soccer ball, as he left it discarded on the floor feet from where it started.

"How Brother will spend the entirety of our trip Mom's slave."

"How Dan will never get a girlfriend."

"Okaaay, yeah this is why I say Van should stop talking."

"You're mean Jie Jie!" Van wined.

"Roy, honey!" Winry called from down the hall. Soon she appeared in Roy's doorway dressed in her grease-stained work apron, heavy gloves and favorite bandana.

"Roy could you help me with Mrs. Smith's leg? Dan, you too please!" She addressed her sons. "Bai, Van, hey you two!"

"Hi Auntie." Bai smiled.

"Auntie I'm hungry." Van said, looking up at her.

"Okay, let's get you some food, then. Everyone out, I guess."

They all filed out of the room, Winry in the lead, Bai following her with Van clinging to her shirt and Dan trying to distract his brother who was still trying to read.

"Now Roy after we finish up in the studio, I want that room clean and your suitcase packed before dinner, okay?"

"Okay Mom…"

After Winry had finished making a peanut butter sandwich for Van, Al and Mei came slowly through the kitchen door, looking dejected and worn out. They promptly slumped into chairs at the table sighing.

"No luck?" Winry asked, bringing them cups of coffee. She always had coffee ready- a habit held over from her apprentice days.

"No luck." Al moaned.

"We met with utter and humiliating defeat." Mei elaborated, waving at her children and laying her head on the table's wooden surface.

"I'd ask Brother for help but he can only help with the theory now and that's not our problem." Al lamented, pulling Van, who had run up to embrace his father, into a one-armed hug. "I'm glad we're going to Xing. Maybe we'll be able to find out something useful there."

"Looks like I'm not the only one with work." Roy whispered to his brother as they walked out of the kitchen to the studio.

Roy woke up early next morning and jumped out of bed, excited for the journey. He barely had time to dress before Daniel burst in the room, the energy that frequently annoyed his older brother in their childhood coming to the surface.

"This'll be so much fun!" he shouted.

"Yeah!" Roy agreed enthusiastically.

"We'll get to see Uncle and Auntie!"

"The imperial city!"

"The desert!"

"Girls!"

"Lots of girls!"

When the boys got to the kitchen, Ed was already eating and Winry was talking to someone on the telephone in a frantic sort of tone that they associated with long hours with a difficult job in the workroom. Nikolai was jumping up to reach a box of cereal on the cupboard. Mordikai, who had gotten a growth spurt that summer, got it for him, bonking his younger brother's head with it on his way, putting it on the counter.

"Moring, you two!" Ed greeted them.

"Morning, Dad. Who's Mom talking to?" Roy asked as they took seats at the table and grabbed pieces of toast and eggs. Ed rolled his eyes and let out a resigned sigh.

"Mr. Williams. She's still worried about leaving her customers. Even though we've been planning this forever and everyone's _already said_ they're okay without her for a little while. Several times."

"Really, Mr. Williams…? You're sure…?... Okay see you when we get back, then. Bye." Winry was saying from the far side of the kitchen where the telephone hung on the wall. Mom hung up and sat down with the rest of the family at the table, helping herself to some eggs with her usual huge mug of coffee.

"What'd he say?" Ed asked.

"That if I ask again, he'll personally come over here and force me to the train station." She replied flatly, sipping from her coffee mug. He burst out laughing.

"Man, Winry, it takes a lot to get that old man fed up! And when you were in Rush Valley you had no problem taking a break!"

"That was because Mr. Garfiel was still there! Plus a million other engineers. But me and the boys will be gone with no one else if someone needs fixing up! Arrrg, I wish Tom was still around. I never appreciated how much help an apprentice is until I had one. I'd feel easier if he could watch the shop for me, but he's got his own studio to run now."

"Have I ever told you you're a workaholic?"

"Since we were twelve years old."

When they had all finished their breakfast, they went to get their luggage and troop down to meet Al's family and head over to the train station. Roy had to be pried from his room by his brother due to the fact that that he could not be satisfied he had packed all the books and tools he would need. Ed had to force Winry out of the workroom for much the same reason. When they had finally all gotten out of the house, a large horse-drawn cart driven by a middle-aged man in a crisp blue military uniform was waiting for them.

"Thanks for the help, Sargent Keller!" Ed called waving.

"A pleasure, Fullmetal sir!" He replied saluting. "Mrs. Elric, ma'am. Kids." He nodded at the rest of them, and they waved back.

"C'mon, you know I'm not military anymore." Ed said airily as he started throwing luggage into the cart.

"That's true sir." Sargent Keller said, as they all climbed in and they started off toward Al's house.

"But you are still a symbol to us military men. If it weren't for you our country wouldn't even be around today. Our military would not be the strong force it is if you hadn't helped expose the corruption that was its weak link and could have damned us all. If it weren't for you, sir, there wouldn't _be_ a military."

Roy smiled at him. It made him feel the deepest pride that his father was a local hero. Ed grinned back at him.

"Well I guess I am pretty cool huh?" He said.

"Oh, honestly…" Winry sighed. Sargent Keller laughed heartily.

"Your husband's absolutely right ma'am. Aye, it's only a shame the former Fuhrer King Bradley lost his life, as well as his little son."

The family looked at each other awkwardly. He continued.

"I well remember the day the higher ups' plot was foiled and Fuhrer Bradley and Selim were killed. I was just a lad then, fresh back to Risembool from Academy. I'm just glad we've been blest with Fuhrer Grumman and Fuhrer Mustang to carry his torch, and that Mrs. Bradley had the comfort of her younger son in her old age. Ah, here's Alphonse's home."

Just a few feet up the drive was, sure enough, Al's house. At the sound of the cart approaching, Van opened the door. Roy though he must have been waiting for them to arrive all morning.

"Ma! Ba! They're here!" He called into the house. He dashed toward the cart that was just stopping on the right side of the porch. Al came out of the still open door carrying his suitcase.

"Van, get back here and get your things, please! Hello, Brother."

Mei and Bai emerged behind him with their luggage, Van shouting excitedly to his sister to hurry up. Bai went on to the cart, but Mei paused in the middle of the lawn. She knelt in front of a polished wooden marker stuck in the ground, lavishly painted with Xingese calligraphy.

"We're heading off now. See you later, Xiao Mei."

Soon they reached the Risimbool train station, and the whole family packed in, Al carrying Van so that he didn't get lost in the crowd. They all filed into a large compartment with wood paneling and cushy green seats. They were going to share this compartment until they reached Central later that day. Then, they would switch trains and stay in separate sleeper cars. Roy hefted himself down on the left seat close to the door and opened his textbook ready for hours stuck in a train with his kid siblings and cousins. Soon everyone fell into a rhythm as the trip went on, the open fields of Risembool disappearing now for mountains now for a small town on the way to Central City. Ed and Al were talking about people they knew in Central that they would be seeing before they switched trains, like Mustang, Hawkeye, and Mrs. Hughes. Van was looking out of the window describing the scenery as it changed to everyone. Bai was sitting between her little brother and father talking to Daniel across the compartment on the other seat. Mom and Aunt Mei were talking about…whatever mothers and aunts talked about. Roy was sitting next to them, reading.

They stopped for lunch in a town about halfway to central and in a few hours' time they were pulling into Central Station.

"Ceeentral! Ceeentral station!"

"That's us, gang." Al said, staring out of the window in delight as if he were a fourteen year old boy again, returning to Central with his big brother.

_Well he probably doesn't miss the being a suit of armor part._ Roy thought.

"Fuck, finally! How did I ever manage to practically live on these things as a kid?" Ed griped as he rose.

"Oh stop complaining." Winry chided him.

Al scooped up Van and hoisted him onto his shoulders. The family jumbled out of the train with the rest of the crowd into the loud, smoking and seemingly infinite city that was about as far from their small hometown as possible. The adults, as they had been to Central many times since their youths, were unfazed by the transition from peaceful village to overwhelming maze. Mei was already checking the train schedule nearby. The children, however, were still adjusting. Though they had all of them been to Central, it was not as frequently, because often family friends from the city would visit them instead of the other way around. Roy and Hawkeye normally visited on inspections, and Mrs. Hughes and Elysia with her children would visit on holidays, Roy suspected so as not to feel alone without Mr. Hughes on those days. He was a loss they still felt over twenty years after the fact.

Mei quickly returned to report the train's schedule, snapping the children out of their daze.

"Looks like ours leaves at nine tonight." She said. "Think you can stay up that late honey?" she asked Van.

"Yup!" Van nodded seriously.

"Yeah right…" Bai muttered.

"Brother what do you want to do for dinner?" Al asked.

"Let's pay Mustang a little visit." Ed suggested.

"Pay…? Ed, we are _not_ freeloading off Mr. Mustang!" Winry said.

"Why not? He lives in the Fuhrer's mansion now, there's room for all of us! Besides, he owes me."

"How do you figure that?"

"Trust me."

And so the eight of them found themselves at the entrance of the huge gleaming white Presidential estate. Recognizing the former Fullmetal Alchemist, the guards admitted them to the front door where Ed knocked. Mustang opened the door himself.

"Hey, Fullmetal, everyone." He greeted them happily. It looked to Roy that his namesake was overworked and was glad for an excuse to take a break, as he had bags under his eyes, mused hair, and stubble- all sure signs of anxiety in him.

"Hey Mustang, mind if we eat at your place tonight? Our train doesn't leave till late tonight so we need somewhere to eat dinner."

"What!? Why my house!? And here I thought you were just dropping by to say hi!"

"What!? You cheapskate!"

"What did you call me!?"

"You heard me, bastard! You got enough room and you owe me!"

"How do you figure that!?"

"Oh why not let them? It's not like you're swamped in work at the moment, sir." Hawkeye, who had quietly turned up behind Mustang said placating. She was apparently staying late working overtime. She led everyone in, beginning an animated conversation with Winry as Mustang stared on blankly. As Ed entered throwing him a smug grin, he sighed in defeat and followed.

"You know, Fullmetal, you should drop in at Elysia's." Mustang said as they all were eating dinner. "She and Gracia would love to see you."

"Why don't I give them a call and they can see you off at the train station?" offered Hawkeye.

Everyone agreed and quickly continued eating and got ready to go as she phoned their house.

After saying goodbye to Mustang and Hawkeye, the Elric family found their way back to the train station in plenty of time. Ed was mediating fight between Bai and Mordikai about Central's train times when a tall woman with long brown hair ran up to them smiling radiantly. An older woman walked more slowly behind her, but she was smiling just as happily.

"Uncle Ed! Aunt Winry! Thank goodness we caught up with you! Aunt Riza said you'd be here!" Elysia exclaimed.

"It's been ages, you all." Gracia greeted them delightedly.

"You could make it!" Winry cried.

"Yes, my husband's watching the kids."

The two women stayed and chatted with the family until their train arrived, roaring into the cavernous station.

"Next time, let's visit Dad together, okay?" Elysia called.

"Sure! I've got some pictures I'd like to show him." Ed said.

"Are you sure? I thought you took every photo we have to Mr. Hughes's grave at some point." Winry noted sarcastically as they boarded the train.

"No, no, there's that one of Kai and Nick at Van's last birthday party and the one of Dan showing off that automail arm he made a while ago, and…"

Elysia and Gracia laughed and waved, disappearing into the dark.

In the train, the Elrics divided into three sleeper cars: Al's whole family took one, Al leading, holding Van, sound asleep. Ed and Winry took the next one with Trisha, and the boys took the third.

Finally, after what felt like forever in a train car, the desert terrain they had been viewing for days rolled away and a vast city emerged. The buildings were not as tall as those in Central, but there were more of them, and even more densely littered than in the Amestrian capital. As the train came closer, one building could be seen above the rest: the Imperial Palace gleaming gold and jade in the morning sun. Van, who had been too small to remember the last time they had visited the Imperial City, stared in amazement. He was clearly wondering how any city could be bigger than Central.

Departing from the train, Xingese buzzing everywhere in the station, the Elrics clearly spotted the tall, long haired man they were looking for. Lin stood smiling gleefully. His hair was tied in white cloth instead of silk and instead of layers of colorful robes, he wore a simple, green cotton Xingese style shirt and trousers. Lanfan was standing next to him, hair down, wearing much the same kind of clothing, only her left hand was covered by a black glove. Ed began to sweat and looked progressively more worried.

"Hey, Lin. You sure meeting us here's a good idea?"

"Sure, sure! It's fine. No-one will recognize me or Lanfan."

"Don't you have, like, work or something?" Ed asked dully.

"How rude, of course I do! But not till later this morning."

"But Lanfan, doesn't there need to be armed guards to protect Lin?" Winry added. "You're in normal civilian clothes and everything!"

"I'm kind of always armed." Lanfan reminded her, knocking her left arm with her right fist, causing a muffled metallic _tang_.

In the palace, Lin had to meet with counselors in the throne room. Promising to spend time with them all when he could take a rest, he charged Lanfan with showing everyone to their rooms while he changed back into his Imperial robes and got to work. Lanfan ordered some guards to escort him, saying she would join him when she was done. A little deeper in the palace, past a courtyard, were the guest chambers; a vast, red hallway with at least fifty different rooms, each a huge bedroom. There were two rows of ornate sliding doors with paintings of legendary monsters, native animals like pandas, and portraits of past emperors. They used to belong to the fifty wives of Lin's father (some had lived there full time, others had visited for extended periods), but after ascending the throne he had abolished the harem system. The entire wing had been converted into an enormous guest suite that often housed hordes of foreign dignitaries but was now reserved for the Elrics. Everyone fell to choosing a room. Ed and Winry could not agree on which to take, Van was nervous about sleeping alone in a new place, Bai wanted to be as far away from her brother as possible, and Mei was pointing out to Al which room had been her mother's. Mordikai and Nikolai were chasing each other thru the sliding doors. It seemed only Dan was doing any unpacking.

"Hey, Auntie" Roy addressed Lanfan who was watching everyone settle in. "Do you think I could maybe take a look at your arm sometime?"

"Sure, but…why?"

"Mom said I should. Said it'd be useful to learn about weaponized automail, since that's not her specialty. According to her, whoever did your arm was really good."

Lanfan blushed a little. "Well, okay. How about after dinner?"

"Sounds great, thanks Auntie!" He said, hugging her.

Lanfan eventually went to join Lin in the throne room, leaving the Elrics to rest after their journey. Al and Mei went off to the palace library to research something to do with alchemy. Van and Nikolai were taking naps in their room, while Dan, Bai, Trisha, and Mordikai went to play a quick game of marbles in the nearby courtyard. So Roy took his futon out of the closet and settled down to read. Several hours later, near lunchtime, when he was in the middle of trying to figure out a passage about methods to keep an autoimail limb with a weapon from being to brittle, there was a small knock on the wooden frame of his door. He assumed it was one of his siblings, but before he could yell something rude, he looked up and saw an unfamiliar silhouette.

"Yeah?"  
The door slide open and a girl his age, kneeling and holding fresh linen crouched in.

"Hello, I'm just bringing in some new bedding." The girl informed him in Xingese, moving to put the load into the closet. "Hey is that automail?" she asked interestedly, seeing Roy's book opened to a diagram of an automail arm being reinforced with carbon, as she dumped the lot and closed the cabinet door behind her. The interested expression on her face disappeared and she suddenly looked up at Roy apologetically. "My apologies, that was very impolite. It's not my business, is it?"

"No, it's fine!" Roy said smiling, also speaking to her in Xingese. He was glad to have someone his own age to talk with. He was also grateful to his Aunt Mei for teaching him Xingese since his childhood. "Do you like automail?"

The girl smiled back nervously, but she seemed pleasantly surprised he hadn't rebuffed her. "I'm curious about it." She began to elaborate. "The only person I've ever seen with it is Captain Lanfan."

"I'm Roy, by the way. What's your name?"  
"…I'm Shui." She said, obviously feeling less nervous. "Your Xingese is excellent. You are I believe, Princess Chang's nephew?"

"Yup, and boy I'm glad she is! You don't know how happy I am I can talk to other people besides my sibs and cousins here thanks to her."

Shui laughed, now completely at ease. "I have four younger brothers myself, so I understand quite well what you mean." Her laughter broke off as she looked at him as if contemplating something.

"What is it?"

"Forgive me, only it's so strange to meet you. Your honored father's exploits with His Majesty are legendary."

"Heh, I bet no-one talks about the part Uncle Al found Uncle Lin collapsed in a back ally of Rush Valley. Truly such is the beginning of great friendships."

"What!?" She exclaimed trying not to laugh. Roy told her more family myths concerning his dad and Lin and in a few minutes they were both laughing. By that time, though, Shui had to get back to work.

"See you around then?"

Shui smiled shyly. "Of course. Your family is staying for a month yes?"

"Yeah, we are. But, oh man, I don't want to get you in trouble. You better get goin'."

"Yes, you're right. Goodbye." She said, turning to open the door. But as she slid it open, another figure walked up to the door, so that when it was fully opened, Lanfan stood in front of them. Shui went a little pale.

"Oh hello Shui." Lanfan said pleasantly, a little surprised.

"Captain Lanfan! I'm sorry, I was just getting back to work…"

Lanfan looked questioningly at Roy. "We were talking for a while, Auntie." He told her in Amestrian.

"Ah, that's okay Shui. You should go help serve lunch but hurry or Yun will chew you out." She said to the younger girl. Shui bowed to both Lanfan and Roy and ducked out, smiling a little at Roy before closing the door. When she had gone, Lanfan turned to him.

"That's actually what I came to tell you: His Majesty's done with audiences for the morning so we can all eat lunch now. C'mon, I'll show you to the dinning hall."

When they arrived, everyone was eating lunch already. Lin (who had changed into more confortable silk robes) and Ed were sitting next to each other laughing. Winry was sitting on Ed's left, interjecting into the conversation and laughing herself. Lanfan went to sit on Lin's other side and Lin began to excitedly fill her in on what they were talking about. She always ate when he did and always sat next to him at the table. This was to protect him, but Roy suspected Lin arranged it that way because he enjoyed her company. Al and Mei were on the other side of the table, talking hurriedly with each other- Roy guessed they had made progress on their research in the library.

That evening, the Elrics, Lin and Lanfan spent the reminder of the day in the large drive inside the main gates taking in the sunset. Al and Mei were still talking about their findings, oblivious to everyone else at the moment, scribbling incomprehensible notes and diagrams in the sand. Lin was sparring with Van, while Lanfan watched, giving her master's nephew encouragement and shouting out advice along with his uncle.

All too soon, it was almost midnight and the family began to go to sleep. Winry chased down Mordikai and Nikolai and hauled them into their rooms while Bai gave her already sleeping baby brother a piggyback ride to his.

Roy tried to sleep but he had never gotten used to futons, though his cousins both slept on them in their parents' room as toddlers.

He pulled the covers off and trotted barefoot through the dark hallways, trying to find a bathroom. Before he did, though, light streaking through a small reception room caught his eye. Soft voices and the sound of steaming tea came from it. Roy cautiously slid up to the sliding door.

"Mei's children sure have grown up, haven't they?"

Lin's voice floated out to Roy's ears.

Lanfan's voice along with the sound of poured tea answered.

"And Ed's boys as well. Winry tells me Roy may move out and start his own automail business instead of going to University in Central. Though Ed secretly hopes he gets more schooling than his parents did."

A long pause and a sip from Lin's teacup followed. Then a regretful whisper.

"We really missed out, didn't we?"

"No, my Lord."

"But…"

"We are by each other's side everyday, when there was a time even that was uncertain. We are fortunate to have that at least."

"…Your right."

Roy meekly stumbled in the dark back to his room, ashamed he listened in to a private conervasion (a bad habit of his from childhood) and staggered to realize something that should have been obvious. His uncle Lin and aunt Lanfan were in love. Somehow, he had never noticed, never made the connection, even though he always thought of them as his "aunt and uncle". He could guess what his uncle meant by lost opportunity; he was the emperor. Lanfan was a commoner. As the emperor, he could bend the rules, but marrying her could have cost him enemies who disapproved. He already abolished the harem system that allowed clans to bid for power and there were tensions still surrounding that; what else would they endure? And they could not carry on an affair, because if they were caught not only would Lanfan's reputation be compromised, but Lin would be seen by the masses as frivolous and crass, a user of the peasant class, no better than his father.

In his room, Roy rummaged through his small nightstand and found the stationary and ink provided in all rooms. Wetting the brush, he began to write. He resolved to write to Shui when they returned home. He would not waste the opportunity. But he was out of practice in his Xingese calligraphy. So laboriously he practiced; the characters for one through ten, person, dog, house…

When he got to the combined characters for "family" he fell dead asleep.


	5. 1938-1946

_1938_

As the postman walked away from the Elric home, Dan lunged for the mailbox. He eagerly inspected the contents: bills, a letter for his mother from Paninya in Rush Valley, Alchemy texts his father had mail ordered…

"Ah hah!"

He had found what he was looking for.

He ran into the house, skidding into the kitchen. Roy, sitting at the table eating his breakfast, stared at his little brother in perplexity.

"Guess what you got in the mail, Brother!"

Dan waved a small envelope with Xingese characters along with Amestrian writing.

Roy's eyes widened. He knocked his cereal bowl over rushing to snatch the letter from him.

"Gimme that!"

Having safely wrestled it from Dan, he abandoned his breakfast for his brother to sit down and finish it to read in private.

When the Elric family had returned from their stay in Xing, Roy had made good on his intention to write to Shui; an intention that grew in strength the more he spent time with her on their vacation, and grew to like her more and more. She didn't speak Amestrian but he spoke Xingese; so all he had to do was write down his address and hers to copy by sight on the envelopes so the Amestrian post could decipher them. The letters themselves were all in Xingese, though his calligraphy still needed work. He had first sent one as soon as they had got home and here finally was her response. He opened the letter and read:

_Roy,_

_How happy I was to see that you wrote! I was surprised when the Head of Maids gave me a letter this morning. I wish my brothers were as studious with their calligraphy as you obviously are. I hope you made it safely home with no trouble. Life in the palace is the same as always. His Imperial Majesty misses your honorable father terribly. He and I both hope your family will be able to visit again soon…_

In the middle of reading, he noticed it was time to head to school, so he continued reading while traveling the dirt path to the schoolhouse, keeping the letter from Dan who could read Xingese too (only highschoolers went to class this early, so their younger siblings weren't with them).

His heart beat faster at the idea she wanted to see him again too.

He really hoped his mother and father were planning another family vacation soon.

_1944_

"Oh, I'm so nervous…" Winry fussed, pacing the Risembool train station platform, making this her fiftieth or so lap.

"Why?" Ed asked, plucking at his tweed jacket. Having never worn a uniform in the military, he was uncomfortable in formal clothing.

"What if she doesn't like us?"

"She _knows_ us."

Roy plucked at his silk suit like his father and worried about the same thing. Sure, she had visited during the six years they had known each other but that wasn't the same thing as being a member of the family.

His mother voiced this fear.

"But that's totally different, Ed! What if she decides she doesn't want to be a part of this family? That she made a mistake moving so far away from everything she knows? You have to admit, our family's weird."

"By that, do you mean me?"

"Possibly."

"Tch." Ed snorted and put his arm on his eldest son's shoulder. "Don't worry, Roy-boy. She'll love it here. When your Uncle Al brought your Aunt Mei home, she had no problem adjusting. And don't worry, I won't let Dan scare her away."

Roy hoped it would be the same in his case. Two months ago he had formally proposed to Shui. Lin had been the go-between, according to Xingese custom. He had even financed both the wedding and Shui's travel expenses to Amestris. It had been decided (by Winry) that the wedding would take place in Risembool, they would stay at his parents' house for a few weeks, then take the train to Central where Roy now lived and ran an automail studio after having graduated from Central University.

The second these plans were made and he received the wire that Shui was on her way, he had fretted endlessly about just what his parents were discussing.

Now, his wife would be arriving on the 8:32 train, it was now 8:29 and his jittery panic was reaching a height.

A sharp whistle took his attention. Steam billowed trough the station and a large train pulled up.

A rush of people boarded and got off among the mess, Roy spotted Shui, in a beautiful red embroidered Xingese style dress. She had been looking for him too, and when she saw him, she lit up.

"Roy!"

She jumped into his arms, knocking his bowler hat off.

After giving them a minute, the family greeted their new daughter-in-law. Dan, who had come up from Central with his brother, with whom he worked (their studio was Elric&Elric), was the first to hug her.

"Welcome home, sis."

They caught up as they took the path, now beginning to be pathed, up to Al's house to meet with the rest of the family. Ed chatted with Shui about her home, asking how Lin and Lanfan were doing.

When they got there, Al was opening up the family medical clinic with Mei and Trisha, who was apprenticing under her aunt and uncle to become a doctor. She had attended Central University with her older brothers and had recently moved back to Risembool for her internship.

When Bai and Van came home from school, Mordikai and Nikolai tagged along, eager to see their big brothers again.

They spent the day in the waiting room talking with the patients and being congratulated on the upcoming wedding as Al, Mei, and Trisha saw patients in shifts. Dan kept impressing his younger brothers with stories of women he had dated back in Central.

In the evening Ed took the family to see a movie. In the evening light outside the theater when it was over, Ed ordered everyone into a huddle, Roy and Shui crouching in the middle, and snapped a photo. Then, they all went to eat dinner at the Elrics'.

"I'll have to go to Granny's grave and tell her you're here, Shui" Ed said after dinner, looking at the bulletin board that was once her photo collection; many of her now worn snapshots were still there. He tacked his newest picture by one of Roy on his College Graduation day, and a fading one of himself, Al, and Winry as children.

Late in the night, Roy was still in the kitchen, sitting pensively on a kitchen chair facing the back. He rocked back and forth, staring at the room that was his as a kid and now, as the oldest still at home, Mordikai's.

"Can't you sleep?"

Shui slipped through the door and pulled up a chair beside him.

"No."

"What's wrong? You've been troubled all day."

"Are you sure you want to live here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've decided to up and move miles from your home! What if you don't feel at home in this country, or with my family, and your unhappy with me?"

Shui glanced toward the hallway where the bulletin board hung. She thought of the photograph she had watched her father-in-law put up with her surrounded by the smiling welcoming faces of her husband's family.

"I think I'm going to fit in just fine."

_1946_

"Mr. and Mrs. Elric?"

A nurse with a white cloth cap and dress stepped out of the delivery room.

Ed and Winry jumped up, their graying hair swishing with the sudden motion, Winry dropping her copy of _Popular Automail_ and Ed dropping his copy of _Alchemy Today_ they had been reading in the waiting room. Dan and his new wife bolted from the other side of the room to hear what she had to say too.

She smiled pleasantly at them.

"Your grandson has just been safely delivered."

Inside, Shui was cradling an already dark haired baby boy while Roy tried to get his attention. Al, Mei, and Trisha were already in the room as well, having helped with the birth.

'Hi Mom and Dad." Roy beamed, looking away from his baby son for only a second.

"Father, Mother." Shui called to them happily. "Come look, father, he's got yours and Roy's eyes."

Though the boy was soon taken by the nurses to their newborn room, the room was as quickly filled with balloons, toys, and cards. Winry took a blue ribbon from an assortment of blue and pink ones and tied it to a teddy bear, placing it with the rest.

Mordikai, Nikolai, Bai, and Van were summoned from the hospital cafeteria to see their new nephew and cousin through the glass.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Elric." The nurse returned, now addressing Roy and Shui. "But have you picked out a name for your son?"

"Jun." Shui answered.

"Jun Roy Elric." Roy elaborated.

Three days later Roy and Shui placed Jun in the family car and drove out of the St. Ariel Central Hospital parking lot to their home.

Ed and Winry watched the car go, arms around eachother and tears stinging their eyes.

"Our first grandkid." Ed whispered happily.

Winry sniffed.

Ed took a good look at the photo of Shui in her hospital bed holding Jun and being crowded by the family.

He put it in his breastpocket, took Winry's hand, and began strolling down the avenue in the opposite direction of his son's car.

He had a new picture to show Hughes.


	6. 1988

_1988_

"The train should be here any minute, Dad." Jun said, stroking his greying black hair in anxiety.

Roy did the same to his completely white head of hair. Beside him, his wife paced as her mother-in-law did over forty years ago on the same platform.

"I'm worried about Granny." Jun confessed. "She hasn't left the house since Granddad died."

Roy's jaw clenched. His mother hadn't stepped out of her house in the weeks since her husband's death. Truth be told, he was worried about her too.

Her husband and son's fretting caused Shui to pace faster, until the train arrived a few minutes behind schedule.

They ignored the crowd and only paid attention to the last car, knowing the only occupants were their guests.

Slowly, being helped down by soldiers, emerged two elderly Xingese, a man and a woman whose black hair was long gone.

The man gave a creased smile, wrinkles not masking the intelligence still present in his old age.

"Morning, Roy." Lin said, raspy, as Lanfan hugged him, refraining from ruffling his hair as was her habit when he was a child. "Not my ideal reason for a visit, I must admit."

"But we're happy to see you." Lanfan finished, her eyes as solemn and clear as in her youth.

Roy took his aunt and uncle in his car up to his parents' house. When he pulled up to the drive, Dan was waiting for them on the porch. He stood up as his older brother got out and slammed the door behind him.

"How's Mom doing?" he asked immediately.

Dan shook his head. "Not so good. Trish is inside with her."

In the old house, Winry sat on the couch watching the news on television blankly. Trisha sat beside her and threw her brothers worried glances when they entered.

"Lin, Lanfan? How was the train ride? I hope my son's newfangled car wasn't too bumpy for you, they don't make them like old '15's anymore." Winry chatted with her old friends as though everything was perfectly normal.

Roy became more worried than ever. He knew it was when his mother acted like everything was okay that she was suffering the most. Winry noticed the look on her eldest' s face.

"I'm alright, Roy." She insisted gently, taking his still youthful-looking hand in her thin, blue-veined one.

"It was his time to go. Your father always firmly believed death was just a part of life. You know that."

"Now." She changed the subject in an attempt at heartiness. "There's tea in the kitchen. Why don't I just get that for all of you."

"Mom, you don't have too…" Trisha protested.

"It's fine, dear."

Winry wore a thin smile as she tottered down the hallway. It froze on her face as she passed the bulletin board and her eyes landed on the family photo they had taken over sixty years ago, her husband, grinning and full of life, holding a toddler that was now over sixty himself and starting to have back problems.

She broke down crying.

The service was held the next day at Town Hall. Mordikai had come down from Central where he was now a Major General on High Command, Nikolai from Xing where he had settled down to work as a translator years ago.

Like Winry, Al was in a daze and sat silently.

"Hey there, Al."

Winry sat next to him. He smiled, looking tortured.

"Hey, there, sis."

She hugged him.

"I was watching the news last evening." Al commented casually.

Winry nodded.

"Me too. They announced Ed's funeral was today."

"Yeah. Y'know, it's funny. They said how he was the Fullmetal Alchemist, and national hero, and a credit to the Military…to me he'll always be the guy who wet his bed when he was three."

"Or who broke his leg falling off Farmer Robert's fence."

"Or who refused to drink milk because it 'tasted like vomit'."

They laughed cathartically, the anxiety easing from their faces.

"Dad."

Van, in his fifties, his hair still black, came up to him. Bai was right behind him. They had come with Mordikai from Central, where Bai lived retired with her daughter's family and Van ran a Xingese Martial Arts School.

"Dad, are you ready to give your speech?" Van asked.

Al looked to Winry, his children, and caught Mei's eye from across the room where she was talking to Lin and Lanfan.

"Oh, I suppose so." Al answered serenely, easing himself up.

As Winry smiled at him encouragingly, Elysia sat down next to her to watch.

Out of respect for his brother, Al did not mention the bedwetting.

"Roy, could you come here, please?"

A few days later, when Roy and Shui were about to go home (Jun had already left with his family to the Studio he now operated with Dan's son and where his parents still lived) Winry called her son over.

"I want you to have this." She gestured to the bulletin board.

"Granny Pinako's board? Why?"

Winry smiled sadly. "I'm afraid all those photos of your father would just weigh on my heart."

"But don't you want something to remember Dad by?"

"Roy-boy" Winry clutched her chest. "Everything that happened between your father and I in those photos? It's all in here."

"She's right, Roy." Al agreed, coming out of the kitchen. He lightly drew his finger along one. "Like this one here. Us fishing before you were born. I'll never forget that. Or the day that one was taken where Brother's eating granny's stew. Man, he loved that stuff.' He chuckled "Did you know he said the person who invented stew was a genius?"

Roy smiled. "Really?"

"We remember things about your father. But some in our family never will." His mother said, thinking of her newest great-grandchild, only four years old. Al thought of his, only just born.

"We don't need these photographs to remember Brother." Al concluded. "We want to pass them on so the youngun's will know about him. So they can hang them up and say to guests 'that's my great-grandpa' and be proud of him."

"Okay, Mom. Uncle Al. I'll take it."

He detached the board from the wall where it hung since his parents and uncle were children, hugged Winry and Al goodbye, put it in the back seat of his car and he and Shui drove away.

Five years later, when she could talk better, Roy's youngest grandchild pointed to the bulletin board suddenly as she was playing in his living room.

"G'andpa, whose that?"

She was pointing at a photo of Ed presenting his newly acquired State Alchemist watch.

"That was my Daddy, pumpkin. Your great-grandpa. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist…let me tell you about him…"

THE END

A/N: This is the last chapter of informal visitations. Thank you so much for reading! I really had a hard time with this chapter, because Ed dying depresses me. I also had a difficult time deciding when it should take place because of the whole shaving years off his life thing and I didn't want him to die too young. So I compromised by deciding it couldn't be more than ten years taken off and if he was going to live to a hundred the he'd die in his eighties which isn't too bad. Again thanks for reading this story, and for the favs/reviews!


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